Santa’s workshop has come a long way in the last 40 years. In the most accurate historical documentary available on the subject, as recently as the mid-60s, the elves were equipped with only the skills necessary to turn out dolls, sleds, toy cars and trains, and other fairly rudimentary wood and fabric-based toys. Somewhere along the line, the Kringles must have signed up the little people for some intensive training, because the electronics coming out of the North Pole duplicate human-constructed items in every detail. We don’t want to make accusations of a cartel, but we’ve always been suspicious about the reasons for Scandinavia’s bustling mobile technology industry. They’re awfully far north is all we’re saying.
Of course, it’s you, the boys and girls on Santa’s list, that are the beneficiaries of all that painstaking (and unpaid) elf labor. But when that bright and shiny new cell phone appears underneath the tree Monday morning, you’ll be faced with the question of what to do with your old one. Judging from the cell phone graveyard I witnessed at a local flea market recently, a lot of us unceremoniously dump our unwanted phones any old place. Either that or they collect dust in a drawer next to a couple of 35mm cameras and a broken Walkman.
But discarded in another way, that phone could save a life.
The DC Coalition Against Domestic Violence accepts donations of used cell phones, which they pass on to victims of domestic abuse who are in the most dangerous phase of escaping an abusive relationship: leaving. As a victim is extricated from the abusive situation, as divorce proceedings are initiated, child custody is sought, protection orders are filed, the risk of violence increases. Many of those who leave do so with very little, and have no access to, or resources to obtain, a cell phone. But that phone can act as a lifeline in an emergency (even without a carrier, the FCC requires that all mobile phones have the ability to dial 911).
And even if your old phone isn’t operational, or if you do have that dusty drawer full of old and broken phones, you can still donate them. DCCADV will send the phone off for environmentally friendly recycling, and receive money for their programs from the recycler. So you can help out regardless of the state of your handset.
Donations may be made by mail to
DCCADV
Attn: Cell Phone Drive
5 Thomas Circle NW
Washington, DC 20005-4014
Or, you may schedule an in-person drop-off by contacting the Coalition by phone (202-299-1181) or email. Donations are tax deductible, so be sure to mention to them that you would like a receipt for your donation if you plan to deduct it.
Your good fortune in receiving a new cell phone this holiday season could be just as fortunate for someone else. Not only can you get a head start on getting in Santa’s good graces, but more importantly, you can help someone along as they make the often difficult steps towards a violence-free new year, and a violence-free life.
Photo by Flickr user Gaetan Lee.
